The Alzheimer's Association has stated someone within the United Stated develops this disease every 65 seconds. Alzheimer's is a devastating illness, is often unnoticed and progresses slowly. The advanced stages can interfere with the daily activities of the patients, leaving them unable to take care of themselves.
The disease can be managed in some ways through modern medicine, but there is no cure. One option is PEMF therapy and Alzheimer s Disease. This article will help explain PEMF therapy and the ways it can help.
What Is Alzheimer’s Disease?
Alzheimer's is a neurological disorder triggering memory loss and cognitive decline caused by the death of brain cells. The most common subtype of dementia is Alzheimer's disease.
Of all dementia patients, sixty to eighty percent actually have Alzheimer's disease. The classification for Alzheimer's is a neurodegenerative disease. This means the symptoms begin as mild and become increasingly more severe.
Symptoms of Alzheimer’s
Memory loss or cognitive decline must be experienced prior to an individual being diagnosed with Alzheimer's. This decline is noticeable because it impacts the ability to participate in daily activities or work. Alzheimer's has five total symptoms. Two must be present in the decline.
These symptoms are:
- A decline in the ability to reproduce or memorize new information, repetitive conversations and questions, misplacing things, forgetting events and appointments, becoming lost on learned routes.
- Not understanding safety risks, impaired reasoning, inability to manage finances and making poor decisions.
- An impairment in visuospatial activities, the inability to recognize faces or objects and the inability to correctly use simple tools.
- Impaired reading, writing or speaking.
- Changes in personality and behavior.
Causes of Alzheimer’s
The death of brain cells causes Alzheimer's leading to less and fewer nerve cells in the brain tissue. Plaques and tangles form in these nerve tissues. The plaques are located between the dying nerve cells. The tangles are located inside of the nerve cells. It is not completely understood why this occurs.
The Unavoidable risk factors include a history of Alzheimer's in the family, carrying harmful genes and aging. The avoidable risk factors include not enough exercise, not smoking, consistently learning new information, maintaining a healthy blood flow, managing diabetes and obesity and eating a balanced diet.
Treatment of Alzheimer’s
There is currently no cure for Alzheimer's. Growth is not possible in new brain cells and once the cells are dead, they cannot be brought back to life. Some medical procedures can ease the life of the patients by slowing down the disease.
The most important dementia procedures are:
- Managing all other health conditions
- Participating in support groups
- Regular physical and cognitive activities
- Taking drugs to decrease the symptoms
Studies have revealed that PEMF therapy can assist individuals suffering from dementia. PEMF can improve the individuals overall quality of life by helping to manage the symptoms. There is scientific evidence to support these claims.
PEMF Therapy and Alzheimer s Disease
Alzheimer's cannot be directly treated by PEMF therapy. No known therapies are capable of treating the disease itself. They only treat the contributing factors and the symptoms. PEMF impacts all of the cells because it works at the cellular level. This means brain cells are affected as well. Positive results can be achieved with PEMF therapy for patients with Alzheimer's disease.
The most prominent challenge is motivating these individuals to begin PEMF therapy as soon as possible. The best results are seen when it is used in the earliest stages. Using PEMF therapy prior to the onset of Alzheimer's disease is a good idea.
PEMF therapy can be used as a preventive measure for individuals falling into the high-risk groups. This can greatly lower the odds of these individuals actually developing Alzheimer's.
Several studies have proven PEMF's are extremely beneficial for addressing Alzheimer's disease. Studies have been conducted using both low and high intensity as well as low-frequency devices. All of these provided benefits up to a certain degree.
One of the major ways PEMF helps is with the management of inflammation. Inflammation is always present in patients with Alzheimer's. The progression of the disease is significantly impacted simply by treating the inflammation.
The Division of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto conducted a study in 2010. This examined the way the memory circuits are affected by deep brain stimulation regarding Alzheimer's disease.
There were numerous principal investigators for this study including Zumsteg D, Tang-Wai DF, McAndrews MP and Laxton AW. The hypothesis that neuropsychological activity could be changed in these pathological areas by using deep brain stimulation on the hypothalamus/fornix was posed by these scientists. This procedure could achieve specific health benefits.
Six individuals suffering from the milder symptoms of Alzheimer's participated in the phase trial. These patients were all receiving ongoing regular therapy. The six individuals were given continuous PEMF stimulation for one year.
The study results were assessed by:
- Using low-resolution electromagnetic tomography to map the brain's affected areas
- Using a PET to see if the brain glucose metabolism in Alzheimer's could change with DBS.
- Using scales and clinical instruments to measure the effect of DBS on the cognitive function of the subject
The study results showed the default network of the brain was activated by PEMF deep brain stimulation. This resulted in the neural activity being brought to the memory circuit. This included both the entorhinal and hippocampal areas of the brain.
The PET scans also showed a significant reversal occurred in glucose metabolism after one year of stimulation in both the temporal and parietal lobes. The Mini-Mental State Examination and the AD Assessment Scale were used to assess the cognitive abilities. This showed either an improvement or a slowing down of the cognitive decline in certain patients after stimulation for six to twelve months.
The scientists stated this therapy showed no adverse consequences. The conclusion was new types of treatments are immediately needed for treating Alzheimer's disease. These results are encouraging and revealed some positive effects can be seen for the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease with deep brain stimulation. Further investigations are necessary.
